Friday, February 5, 2010

MANNY PACQUIAO LOOKS FORWARD to eventually fighting either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley even as the Filipino superstar steps up his training regimen a notch for his March 13 bout with Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.
The two American welterweights’ showdown on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was sealed on Wednesday after Mayweather finally affixed his signature on the fight contract, which Mosley signed last week.
Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king, was originally scheduled to battle the unbeaten Mayweather on March 13, but the megabuck battle fizzled out after both camps disagreed on the drug-testing protocol.
After the failed negotiations, Pacquiao agreed to stake his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mosley, the World Boxing Association welterweight titlist, filled in Pacquiao’s slot after Mosley’s original opponent, World Boxing Council champ Andre Berto, withdrew from their Jan. 30 title-unification bout due to the devastation wreaked by a massive killer quake on the Haitian’s homeland.
The victor of the Mayweather-Mosley tiff stands a good chance of becoming the next foe of Pacquiao, chosen Fighter of the Year for the fourth time and Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America on Sunday.
Irked by Mayweather’s insinuations that he is on performance-enhancing drugs, Pacquiao has accused Mayweather (40-0, with 25 knockouts) of ducking him for fear of losing.
Pacquiao’s renowned trainer, Freddie Roach, said they’re ready to face Mosley.
“If for any reason Mosley wins, Manny would definitely fight him,” Roach told Gareth Davies of Telegraph.co.uk. Wednesday. “We’ll take that fight.”
Roach picked Mayweather to win, noting that Mosley thrives against foes who come forward but struggles against those who are constantly on the move.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, intensified his training at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood Wednesday.
After warming up by stretching and shadow boxing, Pacquiao did plyometric exercises and 10 rounds of punch mitts.

Manny Pacquiao Profile

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao born December 17, 1978, more commonly known as Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer.

He is currently the WBO World welterweight champion, Ring Magazine light welterweight champion, and is rated by Ring Magazine as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

He is also the former WBC World lightweight champion, WBC World super featherweight champion, IBF World super bantamweight champion, and WBC World flyweight champion. Furthermore, he is the former Ring Magazine featherweight and super featherweight champion.

Joshua Clottey Profile

Joshua Clottey (born in March 16, 1976 in Accra, Ghana) is a Welterweight boxer who hails from Accra, Ghana, but now lives in the Bronx, New York. He is the former IBF Welterweight Champion.